A horsey win on one hand and serious cuteness on the other!

Welcome back! Todays post on Whinny and Whisk includes a few photos of the new locals, and an accomplishment with my gorgeous mare that I am very proud of. Read on and enjoy!

This week, a first time Illawarra heifer called Chloe D gave birth to a sweet little calf. Patchy red and white, she was a welcome addition to the farm. Although new to this business, she is a careful and protective yet gentle mother. In the dairy for the first time, she had some issues staying the right way around, but with her calf at her side and a couple days experience she slowly gained confidence.

Here is another new babe…who sure knows how to enjoy life! Born on St. Patrick’s Day, meet Patsy! This tiny Jersey x Angus is quite possibly one of the sweetest calves you’ll ever meet. Her mama is unable to produce enough milk, so Patsy gets topped up twice a day with milk from the morning milking. She has all her humans wrapped around that little hoof… pics attached! ❤️

Something else happened this week that I am very proud of… my horse achieved a milestone we have been working towards for a while. Her on the ground lateral movements have been coming along well, and with the help of an excellent online training series, Willow will lightly back up, move her hindquarters both ways, go when I suggest, stop… well, there’s always room for improvement. But what she really struggled with was moving her forehand. She would throw a head tossing, hoof stamping tantrum or she would simply switch off. Not ideal. But coming back to it after a holiday, a couple sessions later, Willow took one step in the right direction. Knowing how much she had struggled with incomprehension, she was well praised. After a few short sessions repeating it to the right, we attempted to the left. There was definitely some complaining (she always makes her opinion known… whether it matches mine or it is the complete opposite, it depends on the day😂), but she eventually understood. It might not seem like much, and neither direction is perfect, yet, but it is a huge improvement and I am so proud of how far she has come from when I first got her.🩵

That is all for this week, but honestly, thank you so much for reading. Love, A x🐴💜🐮